[Anitha Rajan v. The
Revenue Divisional Officer, Thrissur District & Ors., AIR 2010 Kerala 153]
The petitioner purchased
land at Thrissur District, from the legal heirs of late Gangadharan as per the
original sale deed dated 16-3-2009, registered at Sub-Registrar’s office,
Triprayar. The property conveyed to the petitioner as per the sale deed belonged
to late Gangadharan. The sale deed was executed by his wife Smt. Rathnabhai and
his children Sri. Ajayan, Smt. Jisha, Smt. Usha, Smt. Ajitha and Smt. Anitha.
Sri. Ajayan, one of the vendors was employed in Dubai. Sri. Ajayan had executed
the original power of attorney on 1-3-2009 on non-judicial stamp paper of the
value of Rs.150 appointing his mother Smt. Rathnabhai as his power of attorney
to execute a sale deed in respect of the lands conveyed to the petitioner. The
original power of attorney was executed at Dubai in the presence of the
Vice-Counsel in the Indian Consulate at Dubai and is attested by him.
After the sale deed was
executed, the petitioner moved the respondent for effecting mutation in the
Revenue records. The respondent thereupon sent letter to the petitioner
informing her that the original power of attorney executed at Dubai had to be
produced before the Revenue Divisional Officer, Thrissur for adjudication. The
petitioner moved the application to condone the delay in producing the document
for adjudication. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Thrissur passed order
rejecting application on the ground that it was not produced before her within
the time limit of three months stipulated in S. 18(1) of the Kerala Stamp Act,
1959.
The petitioner challenged
the said order.
The petitioner contends that
it was not mandatory to produce every power of attorney executed out of India
before the Revenue Divisional Officer and that only instruments executed out of
India which are chargeable with duty, but are not duly stamped, that require to
be stamped within three months and that only such documents are required to be
produced before the Collector for adjudication u/s.31 of the Kerala Stamp Act,
1959.
The Court held that S. 31 of
the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959 (which is para materia with S. 31 of the Indian Stamp
Act, 1899) empowers the District Collector to adjudicate on the proper stamp
duty payable on an instrument which is brought before him for the purpose of
adjudication of the stamp duty. U/s.32 of the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959, the
District Collector is empowered to determine the duty payable on that
instrument. However, the second limb of the proviso to Ss.(3) of S. 32 of the
Kerala Stamp Act stipulates that nothing contained in that Section shall
authorise the Collector to endorse any instrument executed or first executed out
of India and brought to him after the expiration of three months after it has
been first received in the State. Power of attorney is executed on Indian
non-judicial stamp paper of the value of Rs.150 which was the proper stamp duty
payable during the relevant time on that power of attorney under Article 44(f)
of the Schedule to the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959. As the power of attorney was duly
stamped, it was not necessary for the power holder or the petitioner to produce
the original before the Collector as required u/s.18 and u/s.31 of the Kerala
Stamp Act, 1959 for the purpose of adjudication. It is only in cases where an
instrument is brought before the Collector u/s.31 that the Collector is
empowered to adjudicate whether it is properly stamped or not.
In the instant case, the
respondents have no case that the proper stamp duty payable on the power of
attorney has not been paid. Since power of attorney, though executed at Dubai is
engrossed on Indian non-judicial stamp paper of the value of Rs.150 which
represents the proper stamp duty payable in respect of the said instrument, it
was not necessary to produce the said instrument before the Revenue Divisional
Officer, who has been appointed by the Government of Kerala to exercise all the
powers of the Collector u/s.18, u/s.31 and u/s.32 of the Kerala Stamp Act, 1959.
The restrictions imposed in S. 18(1) and proviso (b) to Ss.(3) of S. 32 of the
Kerala Stamp Act do not therefore apply. Further, the said
power of attorney was acted upon by the Sub-Registrar, Triprayar when he
registered the original sale deed.
